


The Warmth on a Cold Evening

by kankyuuhin



Category: Prince of Tennis (TV), Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-08
Updated: 2008-12-08
Packaged: 2017-12-29 09:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1003919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kankyuuhin/pseuds/kankyuuhin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Niou's Birthday (12/04) and Kat's birthday (12/08). Backdated and edited.</p>
    </blockquote>





	The Warmth on a Cold Evening

**Author's Note:**

  * For [darthjuno](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darthjuno/gifts).



> For Niou's Birthday (12/04) and Kat's birthday (12/08). Backdated and edited.

December was a cold and unforgiving month, he thought walking back home after school. The sun had set long ago, but he wanted to get his favourite milk tea from the vending machine near his house. The white haired boy made his way through the dark alleyway reaching the vending machines at the park.  
  
He paused for a moment and looked at the deserted park. In the summer, kids would still be playing at this hour, while their parents would sit nearby and chat. He marvelled at how quickly did the year passed. But he didn't feel much different than he felt last winter. Not happier nor sadder. 

  
Niou watched his breath hanging in the air like white cigarette smoke before being blown away by the wind and took out his change for the machine. His movements were mechanical, but when he looked at the container his tea wasn't there. He arched his eyebrows confused and pressed the button a couple times more. Nothing happened. He put his hands around the machine and attempted to shake it. 

  
  
“Here,” a voice said as someone handed him a bottle of milk tea. “Should you be sitting in the cold at this time?” Niou turned to see his friend and took the drink.

“Yagyuu? What are you doing here?” 

“I was passing by and saw you fighting with the vending machine,” he replied calmly. 

“I wasn’t fighting with it. It just didn’t give me my drink!”   
  
Yagyuu smiled at him. “Niou, you got the tea, let’s keep moving. I’ll walk with you.”   
  
Niou nodded and turned to walk towards his home.

 

  
  
“But, wait a minute." Niou said after a while. "Your house isn’t exactly this way,” Niou said getting suspicious.

“It’s not. I wanted to see if you were okay. You left early and Yukimura-buchou was worried that something may be troubling you." He paused. "Come to think about it, you’ve been absent minded all day long.” 

“Nothing really. It’s all the same as always.”   
  
Yagyuu stopped in his tracks. “You just did it again.” 

Niou, who had walked further away and then stopped to turn, looked at the bespectacled boy confused. Yagyuu sighed.   
  
“You haven’t said much since yesterday. You let others tell you what to do and I don’t think anyone remembers a time when you were so passive in your tennis. You may have upset Sanada-kun as well.”   
  
Yagyuu took a few steps closer. “Is everything alright?” He asked again. Niou looked at him. He didn't like it when Yagyuu became all serious about things. He thought about telling him. He thought about  _not_ telling him. Neither option seemed better than the other, so he just remained silent. Yagyuu didn't take his eyes off of him. 

"I'm not going to ask again..." he said leaving a sigh. "What happened?"   
  
Niou knew that if he didn't say something the brown haired boy would most likely become angry. And that definitely wasn't somehting he wanted.

“Yes, everything is fine. My parents are away and I’m used to going home where someone is waiting.”   
  
Yagyuu’s eyes grew slightly bigger in surprise. “What will you do when you’ll have no one waiting for you back home in the future?” 

“Who cares about that right now?” Niou turned around and started walking down the road again.

He was fourteen- no fifteen now and it would be a few years till that time. All he wanted to think about was finishing middle school and going to high school with everyone and playing tennis and especially winning the cup again and getting the National Chamption title again.

 

 

  
  
They continued walking in silence until they reached Niou’s house. Niou walked though the garden door, but his friend's hand stopped him. He turned around. 

“By the way,” Yagyuu said in a quiet voice. “Happy birthday.”   
  
Niou stared at him in surprise. He never told anyone at school when his birthday is. Yagyuu had no way of knowing, right? He looked down at what Yagyuu was holding for the first time that evening. In the bag was a box wrapped in a yellow and white paper.

"A present…?"  
  
“I kind of made the homeroom teacher tell me.” He said, knowing that it was what the other boy was thinking. 

Niou took the bag staring at it and feeling confused despite the explanation. He didn't think that Yagyuu would go through the trouble of getting him a present after all these years.   
  
“You shouldn’t have," he managed to say. "I didn’t say anything for this specific reason.”  
  
“Liar. You just don’t want to go through the trouble of getting everyone presents.”   
  
Niou didn’t deny it. He tried to imagine himself buying presents for everyone on the team when they had their birthday and it was just bothersome and awkward and just plain weird for him. Besides getting useless presents is the worse. If they wanted something they might as well say it.   
  
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t find what I was looking for... I hope you like it.” Yagyuu continued.   
  
“Idiot. I don’t care what the present is… looks like a book…” Niou scowled. "Probably a book..." he mumbled under his breath guessing from the presents the boy gave to the other members of the team.  
  
“I didn’t tell anyone else, so you don’t have to worry about that.”   
  
“Good. Thanks.” He said a bit too hastily. He winced. He didn't want to seem ungrateful, which he was. Yagyuu always took care of him and always looked after him. He saved him from trouble half a dozen times this semester alone, too. He even used his persuasive methods to find out his birthday just so he could buy him a present. Niou thought that Yagyuu was silly, but a good friend.  
  
Yagyuu smiled again.

Why would he smile, he thought. The bespectacled boy had a mysterious aura around him. There would always be something about him that Niou would never understand. It was uncomfortable. 

  
“I’ll see you at school tomorrow then.” Niou decided to change the subject.  
  
Yagyuu nodded but didn’t step away. Instead he stepped forward and leaned in to kiss him. Niou froze on the spot and he wished it was because of the cold. But Yagyuu was kissing him and then he pulled back. Niou felt the warmth of the lips touching; his eyes wide.  
  
“See you tomorrow at school.” Yagyuu said. The soft, cryptic smile never leaving his face.  
  
Niou watched him walk away until he turned at the corner. Why would he kiss him? Why would a guy kiss another guy? He wasn't this confused since the last math test a week ago. Was he just confessed to? Did it mean that Yagyuu liked him... as in  _liked_ him? But he was a guy and Yagyuu was actually fairly popular with the girls at the school. 

Niou unlocked the door and walked into the living room. He sat down on the couch and opened the bottle of milk tea. The present lay on the coffee table in front of him, yet he made no movement to open it and see what was inside. Maybe he was just scared, but it wasn’t important. What was important was that he was kissed for the first time ever and it was his best friend and he liked it.   
  
He wondered if he was going out of his mind. Then he assumed that Yagyuu was walking home now probably overthinking of the whole thing too. He closed his eyes and tried to empty his mind.   
  
  
“So warm…” 


End file.
